The present invention relates to compositions for cleaning hard surfaces, and in particular to compositions suitable for cleaning glass and glossy or shiny surfaces.
A particularly important feature of such compositions is that the surface wnen cleaned must not have any streaks or smears and, although numerous compositions for cleaning glass and like materials have been proposed, providing compositions which clean effectively whilst avoiding streaking or smearing has been a particular technical challenge.
A further desirable feature of cleaning compositions for glass and shiny or glossy surfaces is the ability to reduce or to avoid the build up of static charge. It will be appreciated that the presence of static charge on the surface causes the rapid re-deposition of dust and like particles by attraction of such particles onto the surface from the air. The benefits achieved by cleaning of the surface are thus rapidly diminished.
One known cleaning composition, in particular for glass, comprises an aqueous solution of less than 1% sodium alkyl sulphate and sodium alkyl ether sulphate surfactants together with a grease removing solvent. Whilst this composition shows satisfactory cleaning and non-smearing or non-streaking properties, the composition does not impart anti-static properties to the surface.
European Patent Application EP-A-0621335 discloses aqueous cleaning compositions comprising 0.1 to 10% by weight of a non-ionic surfactant and 3.5 to 10% by wieght of a glycol ether solvent. The compositions are, however, not hard surface cleaning compositions but are instead aimed at achieving broad spectrum anti-microbial activity, an acceptable level of skin irritation and/or an acceptable cleaning efficacy.
DE-A-3614336 discloses hard surface cleaning compositions aimed at imparting an anti-static effect to the surface without smearing. The compositions disclosed comprise an amphoteric co/terpolymer having at least one nitrogen atom per acrylic acid derivative and a surfactant, preferably of the amine oxide type.
Accordingly, the present invention seeks to provide a cleaning composition, in particular for glass and glossy or shiny surfaces, which has good cleaning properties, does not cause smears or streaks, and also has good anti-static properties, that is, the ability to reduce or prevent the build up of static charge on the surface.